Crossposted from the C-News Digest Mailing List
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REPUBLICANS' BEST HOPE IS FOR DOLE TO STEP ASIDE
BY CAL THOMAS
FOUR YEARS AGO at precisely this point in the Presidential campaign
George Bush's poll numbers were in a free fallfrom a rarefied 90 percent
popularity he enjoyed during the Gulf War. Republicans had no message
and no "VISION" (which Bush regularly disparaged), but they consoled
themselves that character, maturity and experience would prevail over
youth, loose morals and inexperience. They shouldn't make that mistake
a second time with Bob Dole.
Party leaders are now faced with three choices.
They can place their faith in special counsel Kenneth Starr in hopes
that he will get a credible and damaging indictment against one or both
Clintons before election day.
They can accept the unpleasant prospect of a decisive Clinton reelection
triumph based on personal and political deception that would, among
other things, produce two or more Supreme Court justices and a reign of
legal error lasting another 40 years.
Or they can advance their efforts to reform government and restore
public confidence in it by persuading Dole to relinquish the nomination
and throw open the Republican National Convention next month in San
Diego. Such an act would forever enshrine Dole as a man who put his
party and its prospects, along with its principles, ahead of his own
interests. It would also electrify the party and put the smug people of
the Clinton Administration into a defensive posture from which they
might never recover.
Dole's dismal performance on "Larry King Live" was the final straw. Mrs.
Dole played Kathie Lee to his Frank Gifford. Speaking for her husband,
finishing his sentences, telling veiwers what "Bob Dole Believes" and
attempting to dilute the age factor.
Worse yet, Dole announced his selection of "moderate" pro-choice New
York  Rep. Susan  Molinari as the convention's keynote speaker. Dr.
Jack  Kevorkian might have been a better choice. Dole said his choice
of  Molinari "is a big statement about women". What does that mean?
Wouldn't it have been a big statement about women (and about babies who
deserve a right to live) if he had named a Pro-life keynoter?
What would it take  to make Dole step aside? Kristol thinks House
Speaker Newt Gingrich "who will never be President, so what does he
have  to lose?" could make it happen especially if he were backed up by
William Bennett and Jack Kemp. I would add Sen John McCain of Arizona.
The effort might not work but should be made.
Republicans must enter whatever is the contemporary equivalent of a
smoke filled room, now, not in San Diego,and ask themselves whether it
is worth losing everything that conservatives have worked for since
Barry Goldwater just so Bob Dole can go down in flames, taking other
Republicans with him. Is giving Dole the nomination just because he's
waited in line the longest worth unleashing Bill and Hillary Clinton
for four years?
An open Convention could nominate a "fresh" face in the sense that he
would not have been beaten to death by sound bite and irrelevancies as
Dole has. Who might that be is up to the delegates. An open convention
would energize the press so the the Republican nominee would seem
electable.
Such a course would be better than disaster, and a growing number of
conservatives around the country think that diaster is the destination
of the Dole candidacy. If they are going to lose, they reason, they
would rather do it with someone who inspirers more faith and trust than
Dole.
Those who want to stick with Dole must say by what scenario they believe
he'll win. Dole is a great American,but a terrible Presidential
candidate. Many would consider him an even greater American if he
stepped aside.
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